Falcon BMS 4.34

Gawd

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I run the update but it does not change the version. No matter how I do that. Re install from fresh, up to U2 it works, U3 does not make version change. It stays as U2. (2085)
Any idea why?

No idea, I don’t actually use it- I only posted the changelog, sorry.

If installed correctly the home screen version does change in the bottom right.

Check you have saved the update to the correct folder and are pointing the installer to the correct place…it can be confusing.

Yes, it basically updates the installer and the installer updates the game, if that makes sense. You have to have the 4.34, the u1, u2 and u3 downloads unpacked in the same place, run installer and update.

Yeah, in general I understand the way how to update but this time it did not work with U3. Not sure why it was stuck with U2. Setup exe actually confirmed it was updated to ver 3 but the program stayed U2 only (version number etc.) and did not want to communicate anynmore with my team mates who had installed U3 succesfully.
Tried clean install, incremental and one step setup, no success.
Manual cleaning of registry after uninstalling the BMS eventually made the trick and now it is U3

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I’ve been enjoying a temporary break from VR and a sweet reunion with BMS. It’s a different sim. First, what were once easy campaigns have proven tough. AI is greatly improved. Enemy SAM and fighter tactics even at “Rookie” are smart enough that every spike must be treated with respect. Carrier ops are a hoot. I finally think I understand how Case 1 and 3 operations work. Watching the stack descend and 4-ships break to perfectly separated traps is impressive. (The LSO isn’t so great however.) Speaking of breaks, overhead breaks are now part of the very impressive ATC system. Today I asked for an overhead at Kimpo. Light field traffic made it possible. I was flying down the runway at 300 KIAS and glanced left to see my AI wingy tucked in really tight. It was beautiful! I called the break and he separated perfectly. When I cleared the runway, he was on short final. Some or all of this may have been implemented when 4.34 dropped last year. If so, sorry, I am late to the party.

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Nice description. I have such a long list of games and sims I want to play…I wish I could commit to BMS again.

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Just do two things: 1) read the training profile for the Case 1 recovery and then fly the Case 1 Tactical Engagement. You as a singleton are marshalled over the boat at 2000 feet while another flight breaks, traps and, sometimes, at least one bolters. It’s really eye-opening to see how they can get a bunch of planes back on a boat safely. Whether that’s how it is really done or not is not a question I can answer. But it certainly works*. 2) Read the chapter on IFF. I never understood why it was so hard to implement. The reason I didn’t understand was because I actually had no idea what IFF is or what it really does. You don’t know what you don’t know. Do I know now? It’s mostly secret so almost certainly not. But I do have a better appreciation for it.

*BMS is still old and somewhat homely compared to DCS. The F-18 doubly so. They are different sims for sure. If anything, the carrier ops in BMS make me even more excited about the prospect playing around the boat in “Super Carrier”.

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Thanks for those recommendations SH. I love reading supplemental information whenever possible. Even taking notes from various sources, like the Fighter Pilot Podcast interviews, and reading the various publicly available manuals, it feels like there still is a lot of classroom and instructor knowledge not being disseminated.

FYI, there are some Hornet replacement textures recommended here, although I haven’t tried them yet.

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Cool chipwich, although be careful with modding bms if you fly online ; anything apart from textures can /will compromise stability unless all have the same mods.
smokinhole if you like the implementation of iff check out the datalink too, unlike the gods eye view that dcs gives with link 16, link11 in bms is also much more limited with maximum 8 responding planes which all have to be on the same freq.

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In the interest of being a nitpicking A here the datalink in BMS is an implementation of IDM which some F-16s had before Gen 2 Link 16 (MIDS-LVT) came along and is still used AFAIK.

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I stand corrected! For some reason link11 struck with me because a guy I hold in regard said it was (and it might be partially true in terms of functionality), but indeed IDM sits on its own beside the link platforms. Did a bit of research and, for clarity I’ll should stay clear of these link4/link 11/link 16 containers.

As far as I can make out:

TADIL A/B: link11 (Alligator), old, still used by USN;
TADIL C: link4 (Dolly), old as in… used by the tomcat
TADIL K: IDM (f16/a10) can use any radio, very cost effective and still in use today because of that; is as secure as the radio that it uses, I.e. no intrinsic crypto/freq hopping;
TADIL J: link16 (Timber): “the answer”

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BMS is unique to the sim world in so many ways. Everyone wants her secret. How can old age look this good?

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I have no idea! That bloody sim has aged considerably better than I have, the last 20 years…

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How is the Harrier in BMS ? Do you have any experience with these other jets ?

Ask Elizabeth Hurley…

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The Harrier is OK. The pit was refreshed a few years back. The FM felt pretty convincing to someone like me who knows no better, that is until RAZBAM unleased their editon in DCS. The devs did a beautiful job on the Wasp (light carrier) but they opted to wait until 4.35 to release out of fear that any new objects might cause stability issues, especially in multiplayer. You can fly to it now but is not a solid object. The F-18 is very convincing but quite different than what we have in DCS. And since BMS is, after all, a Viper sim the safe bet would be that the DCS hornet is way better. With those limitations I find the Harrier to be little more than a curiosity. But the Hornet mixed with a campaign and all sorts of flying happening around the boat is too good to pass up.

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BMS is a beautiful beast. Yes it may not have the latest and greatest graphics, but when you take a step back and stop worrying about that, it really has it’s own charm. At times it looks better than DCS to me because it isn’t trying as hard. You can tell the time and love went into other areas and it shows beautifully.

I think the best compliment I can give it is that when you’re in a flight of F-16s loaded down with SDBs trying to sneak around a MiG patrol that your escort flight is engaging, rippling off your A-G ordnance, then turning around a bagging a couple of MiGs on your way back to base, in a glorious unscripted dynamic campaign, you completely forget about the graphics. To me that’s the mark of any truly great sim (or game for that matter): If the gameplay is good enough, graphics don’t matter.

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Good genes and lots of money. :wink:

Wheels